The Coldest Ones
by thosetwogirlswrite
Summary: The legends told of the dead walking the earth, the cold ones. Little did they know myth would turn into reality…the coldest ones. Zombiepocalypse. AH/AU.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

_Interviewers: Lauren Mallory, Emmett McCarty, and Jacob Black_  
_Interviewee: Laurent, Jane, and Jasper Whitlock_  
_Interview setting: Woods north of the highway_  
_Affiliation with interviewee: Survivors of the attack (Lauren, Emmett, Jacob, and myself) establishing threat status of possible hostiles (Laurent, Jane, and Jasper)_  
_Transcribed by: Bella Swan_

_(**Interview excerpt**)_

_Lauren: Do you really think we are fucking stupid enough to let you join us?_

_Emmett: Lauren. _

_Jacob: Answer the question._

_Jane: What was the question?_

_Jasper: They want us to access our own intelligence. _

_Emmett: How were you involved with the attack? _

_Laurent: It was all Riley and Victoria. Aro…well you've met him. He's doesn't do well with –_

_Jane: Anything._

_Laurent: Direction. He doesn't do well with direction. _

_Jacob: Did you know what they were going to do?_

_Laurent: No. _

_Lauren: How could you not? Stop wasting our fucking time. _

_Emmett: We just want to hear the truth._

_Lauren: We lost people. Our friends. _

_Jasper: You side wasn't the only one. _

_(_Jasper stands up, angry. Jacob moves in front of Lauren. Emmett stands in the middle.)

_Emmett: Tell us what happened so we can make our decision._

_Jane: Why? So you can hurry up and kill us?_


	2. Chapter I

Chapter I

**A/N: Thanks everybody for checking our story out. Like it says in the profile, we are fanfiction readers turned writers. Whooo. This is a Twilight AH/AU. It's a crossover with The Walking Dead in the sense that it takes place in the universe of ****_TWD_****, but none of the characters from the TV show will be in the story, so that's why it's not listed as a crossover. We will be starting out most chapters with a newspaper/journal/etc. excerpt, which will be explained later. A lot of characters changed…but hey, it's AU. So that's cool. We will also be listing the songs that "go along" with each chapter, and if you care to listen to them we have an 8tracks (see link on the bio page).**

**Rated M for violence/language…for now ;)**

**So yeah, that's about it for this massively long A/N. It's our first fic, give us some love and review and let us know. **

* * *

_Fullmoon – The Black Ghosts_

_How Far We've Come – Matchbox Twenty_

_Beware the Dog – The Griswolds_

_Coming to Terms__ – Carolina Liar_

* * *

"It's been a month living with _you _idiots," Lauren indicates to the group on her left, and then turns to her right, "And a _month and a half_ living with you idiots. And still, nobody has any damn idea how to ration out beans."

Bella sighs, dragging her hand over her face. Lauren had been going on and on about food rations for the past week, but had yet to actually do anything about it. Other than berate everyone else.

"Lauren." Emmett starts, and Bella is always amazed by the patience he is able to retain in his voice. "We knew the beans would run out this week. We knew we would be running out of food."

"Exactly. It wouldn't kill a couple of you to skip a few meals." She looks pointedly at Mike Newton, resident village idiot.

Or "Charms" as he insisted everyone else call him. "Because I always get _lucky_," he had informed them. To which Lauren mimed vomiting.

"We need to go on a run." Jacob says.

"_We _wouldn't need to if _we _was still 8 people instead of 8 plus the 4 woodsmen of the apocalypse." Lauren says.

"The woods seemed like a reasonable place to go." Tyler grinds out.

Bella rolls her eyes. She hates to admit that Lauren has a point. The group did start out much smaller, just her, Lauren, Jacob, Quil and Embry, Rosalie, Edward, and Angela. Some of the few students left on campus, they were all taking the same beginning psych course, a liberal education requirement at the U of M in Duluth, when everything went to shit.

It started out in the newspapers, a few cases of the flu. Strange in the summer, but not unheard of. Then a few cases turned into half of Duluth, which turned into the National Guard occupying the city. Within hours, city areas were zoned off, and gunshots echoed around the hills.

In a panic, their psych class took off. A group of strangers with no choice but to stick together. Even if it meant putting up with their stuck up TA, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou-Edward-Cullen the _pre-med grad student_.

They decided to go down to the lake, thinking of fresh-water supply after holing up in their classroom. They made it in time to see the military dumping the bodies, trailers full, in the water.

She doesn't remember how they decided on the sports bar, or why, but it's been their…home of sorts for the past 7 weeks. It was just a month ago that they came across the other group, Tyler, Charms, Emmett, and Leah. They had been waiting out in Chester Bowl Park, which was also near the university.

And Bella can understand their line of thinking, going back to the woods. Only it's a park in the middle of a residential area, and by the time her group had found them, they looked like an episode of _Bear Grylls _gone wrong.

"I'm in for a run." Leah says.

"Same." Tyler steps up.

"We shouldn't send out more than half. Leah, Tyler, Embry, Quil, Bella, and myself." Emmet says.

"No. You said you'd fortify the back entrance. Send Cullen, it's not he's doing anything helpful here." Lauren says, surprising everyone.

"I'll go. I'm nearly unparalleled in strength and skill." Charms adds unhelpfully.

"You tripped getting out of your sleeping bag today." Lauren says drolly.

"I thought I saw a cold one!"

"Where, under the fucking pillow? A new cuddle buddy we don't know about?" Lauren shoots back.

"Leah, Tyler, Embry, Quil, Bella, and Edward then." Even Emmett ignores Charms.

Bella nods, crossing the room to grab her beloved colt. It was a pain to get the right permits to bring it up to school with her, but given everything that had happened, she was glad Charlie had insisted. The thought of her dad, not knowing what had happened, makes her stomach twist. But she ignores the feeling, instead concentrating on the task at hand.

"I need a weapon. A knife, or something." Edward says.

"Why don't we just save a step, and have you stab me in the leg. Again." Bella says.

"It was one time."

"No. It was the first and last time someone as unknowledgeable as _you _gets to wield anything sharper than a butter knife. You'd think a cowboy from Texas would know his way around weapons."

Edward mumbles something about "pacifists", and Bella almost feels bad by the way his face darkens at the mention of his home state. Almost.

"Well quit bickering, and get ready. Cause I for one, am hungry." Emmett says, grinning.

They gather around the door, Emmett holding the handle, ready to bar it the moment they're outside. Despite his earlier cheerfulness, he turns serious.

"Be careful". He warns.

Because no matter what, they don't forget what's out there. They can't forget about the cold ones.


	3. Chapter II

**CHAPTER II**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Keep reviewing/favoriting/following to keep your writers happy happy happy.**

* * *

_Itchin' On A Photograph – Grouplove_

_Spotlight – Mutemath_

_What You Wanted – One Republic_

_Howl – Florence and the Machine_

* * *

They call it going on a "run", but really it's more like a slow, terrifying crawl. There's not a lot of running, because there can't be a lot of noise: noise attracts the Cold Ones. As does movement, light, and blood.

"Where are we going?" Bella whispered as the door shut behind them. They were in a diamond formation, their go-to for any run. They had learned from other's mistakes not to break ranks, that it was easier for the cold ones to pick you off when you were standing alone.

"UMD." Edward says.

"The university? Don't you think everyone will have thought of that already?"  
"I agree with Bella." Quil says, Embry nodding his ascent.

"UMD's the dumbest idea I've heard yet." Lead adds.

"Then _you _come up with something better. Did you consider that everyone will go there because it's _worth going there_?"  
"You are truly a gift to us all, Edward." Bella rolls her eyes. "Fine. Let's go."

As a group they head up the hill, trying to cover the few miles between them and the college. It's not too far, but entirely up hill. Bella is once again thankful it's nearly summer and the leaves offer some coverage.

They're nearly halfway, when Tyler indicates he hears something, using his elbow to gesture behind them. Bella raises her colt, and Tyler, who managed to score a riffle on one of the earlier runs, aims his gun as well. Embry has a bat, Quil a crowbar, and Edward a knife, despite Bella's earlier protests. Leah had somehow ended up with a machete, and refused to explain how she found it. But even with one arm, she managed to look like a warrior wielding it.

Edward tries to move forward, taking the lead, but Bella steps up first. Behind her, the group fans out, Leah watching behind them. If it comes to it, Quil, Embry, and Edward will move forward to strike. They avoid using the guns, both for noise and to save the ammo.

"Get ready." Quil murmurs under his breath.

So far they had come across 28 Cold Ones. They hadn't lost anybody yet. They had been lucky.

The leaves on a bush at the end of the block rustle before a body bursts from them.

"Goddamn shit motherfucker." Leah says, struggling to keep her volume down.

"GUYS!" Charms yells.

"_Shut the fuck up." _Quil whisper-screams, Charms still running up the hill, waving his arms.

"DON'T SHOOT IT'S ME!"

"Like that's incentive to _not _shoot." Tyler mutters.

"_No shit it's you. Stop. Yelling." _Quil lowers his crowbar.

Charms finally reaches them, out of breath and panting. So much for his "athletic abilities" he was always bragging about.

"What the hell happened to staying back?" Edward asks, eyes raging.

"It's the type of guy I am, always in the action. Always on the scene."

"For fucks sakes," Bella says, dragging her hand over her face "We need to get a move on, we're way too exposed here. Not to mention all of the noise."

"For once, you're not wrong. Let's move." Edward says.

"I think we should come up the south side." Charms pitches in.

"Considering we're coming _from the south_, what other side would you suggest?" Leah says.

"Come up the south, heavy on handle, moving in real stealth like."

"What are you even saying?" Even Embry, the quiet one, is not immune to Charms' antics.

But Charms had stopped listening, instead turning on his feet to bellow "WE'VE GOT A LIVE ONE!"

Bella turns in time to see a Cold One making its way from the direction Charms had just come from.

"I've got it." Quil whispers. Bella doesn't miss the anxiety that passes over Embry's face.

Quil moves forward, waiting for the Cold One to draw closer. The Cold One wears a torn-up bus uniform, his jaw hanging dislocated. His left foot drags uselessly behind him, chunks of scalp and hair missing. But like all Cold Ones, his eyes are eerily alive, unsettling moaning noises filling up the block.

"Quil. Do it. Quick. Before there are others." Bella urges him, unable to look away from the gruesome sight before her.

Quil misses the head on his first blow, hitting the thing on its shoulder. But it doesn't slow the Cold One down, or seem to deter it from reaching them. He raises the crowbar again, this time meeting the mark, a clean hit to the head. The only way to kill them.

"_Nice_, bro." Charms says, followed by an _"ouch"_ as Leah backhands him on the head.

They leave the corpse in the street, continuing towards their destination.

It's midafternoon by the time they reach the college. They pass the bird statue, noticing the once pristine wall of windows is laced with gunfire.

At the beginning, when the government was "taking preemptive measures to control the spread of the disease", the university was one of the first places they sent the soldiers.

As a group, they continue to move through the campus, agreeing that the side entrance of the dorms is the best place to try and enter.

"We should pair up and split up, we'll cover more ground that way." Tyler suggests.

"Me and Embry'll take the lib arts wing." Quil says.

"Our lit department was doing a food drive a couple of months ago, there may still be some stuff left." Embry chimes in.

Leah volunteers to go with Tyler to check the staff room in the psych department. Bella suspects it's an effort to avoid getting stuck with Charms, but it backfires as soon as Charms latches on as well.

Which leaves Bella with Edward. Great.

"Guess I'm stuck with you, Swan." He says, voicing her thoughts.

Bella watches as everyone heads off in their respective directions, with the agreement to meet up in 1 hour. They head up to the Dining Center and Food Courts, hoping that something remains untouched.

"So. Glad to be back on campus?" She asks, trying to diffuse some of the tension.

"It's not really a _campus_ anymore though, is it? More like a graveyard."

"That's cheery."

"Go check in the kitchen, I'll cover the backroom." He says as they reach their destination

"You're not the boss here!" She yells to his retreating back, muttering asshole as she does what he says.

They meet back in less than a minute, arms empty.

"Nothing?" She asks, because despite her earlier reluctance to come here she was hoping to find something.  
"It's been cleaned out."

"Gee, that sounds familiar. Let's head to the food court."

They walk in an uncomfortable silence that reminds Bella of the first few summers she spent with her dad in Washington. Desperate to both break the silence and push back the memories, she starts to chatter.

"Is somebody paying you for words-per-minute?"

"What?"

"The incessant chatter." He explains, miming with his hand.

"Sorry, I forgot you were the broody-asshole type. Are all pre-med students so above small talk?"

"Yes. It's a requirement to get into the program."

She almost misses that he's joking, but catches the small crooked grin.

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes. "So, how does a cowboy end up in northern Minnesota anyway?"

Any amicability they had built vanishes as he tightens his mouth, standing up straighter.

"Who says I'm a cowboy?"  
"The accent and the boots pretty much do that for you."

"I've been in Minnesota. Did my undergraduate degree in St. Paul, and started here last fall."

"Okay…but why not Texas?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?" He retorts, sulking off into the food court.

Once again, caught off guard by his mercurial moods, Bella is left to ponder the brooding cowboy, currently ignoring her behind the food counter. They decide to again split up, him taking one half and her the other.

Edward is finishing his unsuccessful task of searching a fridge in the backroom when he hears Bella's screams.

"Swan!" He yells to her, against his better judgment.

Wishing he had a weapon more substantial than his knife, Edward moves forward, afraid of what he will find around the corner.


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

**A/N: Thank you for sticking with us! What do you guys think so far? Where do you want to see Edward and Bella go from here? Leave us some love! (: **

**xx those two girls**

* * *

_Fever – The Black Keys_

_Breezeblocks – Alt-J_

_Hearing Damage – Thom Yorke_

_Creep – Radiohead_

* * *

_"__Swan!" He yells to her, against his better judgment.  
__Wishing he had a weapon more substantial than his knife, Edward moves forward, afraid of what he will find around the corner._

As he rounds the corner, Edward's fear changes to irritation when he finds Bella sprawled on the floor with none other than Charms.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Bella grits out.

"I thought it would be funny! You didn't need to elbow me in the throat!" Charms whines, rubbing his neck.

"Well,_ you_ really didn't need to jump on my back, I thought you were a cold one." Bella says.

"Listen, hon—"

At Charms' use of the pet name, Bella starts at where she left off, and pummels him in the stomach. Bella stops muttering under her breath as Charms crawls away begging for mercy. Edward moves quickly towards Bella, offering a hand to help her up.

"You okay?" Edward asks gruffly.

Bella nods, grabbing onto his hand. He pulls her up roughly due to the adrenaline still coursing through his veins, causing Bella to crash into him, and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Sorry," Edward says.

"Do you want to let me up now?" She says blushing, referring to his hands still holding her against him.

He releases her, surprised at his own reluctance to do so.

At that moment, Leah and Tyler burst through the doors.

"Where were you?" Leah angrily asks Charms.

"We were supposed to stick together, man. You know the rules." Tyler says coldly.

"You guys were boring, " He whines, "I just –"

"Save it," Edward interrupts, "You pull shit like that again and you better wish it was the Cold Ones that get to you first. "

"Let's go Embry and Quil, the hour's almost up." Leah says.

As the group treks toward the meeting spot, they find that Embry and Quil are already there.

"You guys get anything good?" Bella asks as they get closer.

"No, no food. The charity drive was a bust but –" Embry starts.

"This entire trip was a waste," Leah interrupts, "Bella and Edward also came up empty."

"Not entirely," Quil says happily, "Look at what we found in some locker!" He holds up a bottle, letting the liquids slosh around.

"Vodka!" Charms chimes in, "Man, I love that shit."

"Sorry, adults only." Leah says, clapping Quil on the shoulder.

"Good, good. We'll be able to disinfect wounds now." Edward says.

"Buzz kill." Bella mutters under her breath, "But, seriously, what are we going to do about the food? We didn't do this run for nothing and Emmett's going to be pissed if we come back empty handed."

"Well, I did hide some food in the woods" Charms says smugly.

"What do you mean you left food in Chester?" Tyler asks, his eyes narrowing accusingly, "We ran out of food, that's why WE left."

"I may have been lying that I said that squirrels ran off with the last food pack…" Charms admits.

"We all thought you just ate that last pack yourself," Tyler exclaims, "Are you telling me that when we were ALL starving to death, YOU decided to HIDE our last meal?!"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Obviously your stupidity knows no bounds." Edward says, rolling his eyes.

"Do you remember where you hid it?" Leah asks.

"Gurrl, you know it." Charms says, winking at her.

Leah makes a face of disgust while Tyler starts leading the group towards Chester Park.

Before the Cold Ones, the walk to Chester Park had always been easy. Just a few blocks from campus, it was a city park, frequented by students who wanted to enjoy nature. Now, the refuge had changed into a trap for the Cold Ones. The steep hills surrounding the river that ran through the park now served as a drop off funneling the Cold Ones into one area, unfortunately for them, that area now had one of the best chances of coming away from this run with food. Walking in diamond formation, the group moved as quietly as possible through the abandoned streets.

"We haven't seen anybody else for days," Embry whispers, "What if we're the only ones that made it?"

"Shush," Leah whispers, "Don't think like that, keep moving."

It's not until they're at the entrance of the park that Bella releases the breath she has been holding in. The once calming park full of trees and shadows now looked menacing, as if it was hiding an enemy around every turn. Without college students and families meandering the trails, it felt abandoned, like a playground that had fallen to ruin.

"Swan?" Edward says, nudging her forward.

Bella ignores the look of pity that flashes through his eyes. Unable to deal with the full force of her emotions, she nods, moving forward.

"It reminds me of Seth too," Leah whispers, "He'll come back to us, I know he will."

Bella nods again, "Let's just focus on getting the food, okay?"

As the group begins to slow climb down the rocks leading to the river, they hear something coming from the South. Hoping it wouldn't come to this, Bella takes out her colt aiming it towards where she heard the sound. This time, the Cold One is a woman. As she draws closer, Bella realizes with horror she recognizes her face.

"Sammy." Leah is the one who whispers the name. "I dated her. Sophomore year." She seems to whisper it to no one as Sammy walks closer, her moans filling the silence.

Bella's hands begin the shake the longer she holds the colt. Nobody makes a move.

"Swan, back up." Edward urges from behind her, raising his knife to take Sammy out.

_A Cold One, _Bella admonishes internally. _Not Sammy. She's a Cold One now._

Edward, moving forward, shakes Bella out of her state of shock. Looking sure of himself, he again raises his knife, aiming for the Cold One's skull. But something distracts him making him miss, making him trip and fall into the river instead. It is Leah that moves forward next, raising her machete through the air as the Cold One bends towards Edward. The blade severs the head quickly. A disconcerting silence follows as everyone stares at the corpse.

"Whew, that was a close one! Nice one, Leah!" Charms says obliviously.

"Where's the food." Leah counters, ignoring the intended compliment.

They hadn't had to kill many people from their old life before, but it felt like everyone they did just put them further from feeling normal, further from feeling human.

It's not until they're moving again that Bella turns on Edward.

"What the hell was that?" Bella grits out, not sure where her fury is coming from.

"A confrontation. Known to others as a standoff. Sort of a duel if you will." He says, avoiding eye contact.

"It looked like a mistake to me." Bella retorts haughtily, scoffing.

"What's it to you, Swan? I wasn't the only one hesitating back there." He shoots back.

Bella continues on, ignoring Edward.

"I've had enough of your inexperience, when we get back, it's time for you to get some training if YOU insist on following us around on these runs," Bella states, "And another thing—"

"EMBRY!" Quil yells from ahead, "He fell! Shit, can anyone see him? EMBRY! EMBRY?"

"Quil, stop yelling." Leah hisses, "You know better, the Cold Ones will hear."

"EMBRY! EMBRY! Stay still, I'll come to you!" Quil, usually the happy-go-luck one, yells.

All of Quil's joking nature vanishes with the possibility of Embry being hurt.

"Be quiet, please. " Leah reminds him.

Bella points to the herd of Cold Ones coming up behind them. "It's too late, they're already here."


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

**A/N: From now on, the chapters will start with a newspaper clipping, sometimes unpublished and sometimes scraps Bella has gathered. They will expose backstory/serve as foreshadowing and expand on what's currently happening in the chapter. As always, leave us some love and let us know what you think (: Any thoughts on Seth as a former boyfriend?**

**xxthosetwogirlswrite**

_From Afar – Vance Joy_

_Gory and Glore – Lorde_

_With You In My Head (feat. Black Angels) – Unkle_

_Hollow Moon – AWOLNATION_

* * *

_ATTENTION:_

_Missing person, Seth Clearwater. Last date talked to May 3__rd__ 2014, thought to be last seen in Seattle, WA, with mother Sue Clearwater (status unknown) and Charlie Swan (status unknown). If whereabouts known, have contact (sister) Leah Clearwater or (girlfriend) Bella Swan in Duluth, MN. Any information helpful. Seth, we are looking for you. We will always be looking._

_Written June 10__th__ (or 11__th__). To be published by the soonest operating newspaper._

* * *

Bella doesn't know if time speeds up or stands still in moments like these; only that her fear is so palpable it's a taste in her mouth. It's like she's hovering over her own body, like she's not actually there. And it's not happening to her.

"Motherfucker." Tyler says under his breath. "Fucking twelve of them. At least."

"We have to get out of here." Leah says, readjusting her hold on her machete.

"Where's Embry?" Edward nods his head towards the hill. "How deep is the drop?"

_Could he have survived_, he doesn't ask.

Quil pushes through the group moving towards the hill. He drops to the ground, and crawls towards the edge, looking over the side of the hill. "Embry? Em? _Em?_"

"Quil, get the fuck up, we've got to go, we can come back—"

"No. No, _fuck that_. I'm not leaving him."

"Twelve Cold Ones, with three of you that's four each. Can you take them out?" Edward's eyes flash up to the herd making their way closer, their moans growing wilder as they get closer.

"And what will you be doing?" Bella asks.

Edward ignores her, instead reaching for the discarded crowbar by Quil and handing it to Bella. "Here. Don't use the gun. It'll make too much nosie."

"I _know _that. What—"

"I'm going to go down there."

"Down…_down the hill_?" Bella sputters.

"What the hell, Cullen?" Leah adds in.

"Quil's not leaving Embry, we're not leaving Quil and losing two group members today. You guys are our best chance at fighting out way out of here."

Tyler nods, gripping the riffle by the barrel. "I can use the butt of this. It's our best chance."

"Guys, what about me?" Mike pipes in. Bella notices nobody included him in their stratedgies.

"Try not to fuck it up." Leah tells him, pushing a branch into his chest. "And here, for protection."

Bella has time to look over and see Edward crouching by Quil, who's insisting he heard Embry before they're here; the Cold Ones have closed in.

She doesn't let herself thing about the fact that they are closed in here, towards the bottom of the ravine. The only ways left to go are down, and out the way the Cold Ones came.

Leah is the first the charge the group, her machete slicing an arch through the air. One.

Tyler moves forwards next, his gun making contact with the face of another. Two. It takes three swings before it's down.

Bella can't tell if the herd is a group of college kids or not, there's not much discernable from what's left of their clothes. Or their faces. She supposes that Chester Bowl would be much of a forgiving environment to be a zombie in.

Leah keeps advancing. Three. Four.

Tyler is moving on her left, five.

Bella begins rounding, going after a Cold One who nearly passed their three-man-defense-line, when her foot hits a root sticking out of the ground. She hits the earth with a loud thump, all the air seeming to rush out of her lungs. She manages not to scream, but it's enough noise to grab the Cold One's attention.

Bella reaches desperately for the crowbar, Leah and Tyler too engaged in battle to come to her rescue.

"Shit, _shit_." Her hands wrap around the bar, and she swings it with everything she's got at the Cold One now looming over her.

It makes contact with the shoulder, sending the Cold One's bone further into the socket. The cardigan the Cold One's wearing tears, revealing more rotten flesh. The smell chokes Bella, momentarily taking over her senses. It's the Cold One's hand, moving desperately against her face that brings her back to reality.

She swings the crowbar again, desperately wishing she could just use her gun. It's not so much the single hit that makes her stomach turn, but that she has to do it again. And again. Because they are all as good as dead if they don't finish what they start when it comes to killing the Cold Ones.

_You can't kill what's already dead_, Bella reminds herself.

There. Six.

Bella moves towards where Tyler and Leah are, each taking down one more. Seven. Eight. A momentarily distracted zombie, more intent on Leah's bleeding forehead than Bella's presence behind her makes nine. Leah moves swiftly with her weapon, taking down number ten, and then eleven.

"Hey guys, look!" Yells Mike, indicating to the body at his feet. A Cold One impaled itself trying to get to Mike, who had hidden behind the branches of a particularly dense bush.

"Fantastic, you fucking _douchebag_."

"Don't hate the player."

"Where are Cullen and Quil?" Tyler says, pulling their attention off of Mike and his lewd victory dance over the Cold One's corpse.

"Here!" They hear Edward's strained voice coming from over the edge of the hill.

"We found him!" Quil calls next, the first one to climb back up. His head emerging first, followed by his soaking wet body. He's on his stomach, facing back over the edge, reaching his hands down, instructing Edward he's ready.

Bella runs over, flinging herself down next to Quil in time to grab Embry's other arm.

Edward has Embry thrown over his shoulder, using his legs to push them both up the hill, one arm securing Embry and the other holding them onto the steep drop.

"Take your time." Edward grunts out. "It's not like your boyfriend is some six-foot-tall giant, _oh wait—"_

"Yeah, yeah. Always noticing by body, Cullen." They hear Embry say faintly. "Sorry I lost a weapon. I dropped the bat."

"Em, who gives a shit about the bat. It's okay, we've got you, now."

Pulling him up is excruciatingly slow, inching him up and over the side of the hill. Once he's up and Quil is reasonably satisfied he's not going anywhere again, they lean back over the side of the hill to haul Edward up.

"Where," Bella asks, panting out of breath, "Did you learn to climb like that."

"Not that we're complaining." Embry says, offering his shy grin. He swats at Quil's attempts to examine him, turning him over for injuries, but Quil has already ripped the bottom of his shirt, dabbing at the bleeding gash on Embry's forehead.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Swan." Edward raises his eyebrows. "But I did track and field in high-school."

"Which gave you amazing spidey abilities to scale hills?"

"I was one of the best athletes in state. Google it."

Bella rolls her eyes, accepting Leah's outstretched hand to pull her off the ground.

"We've got to get going guys, it's going to be dark soon." Leah says.

"Embry shouldn't move right now. We should wait—" Quil starts in.

"Quil, they're right." Embry says quietly. "We've got to go, we—" He winces when he tries to stand up, his ankle buckling under his weight.

Edward steps over, throwing one of Embry's arms over his shoulder, nodding at Quil when he does the same. "Just have him keep his weight off his ankle as much as possible, it looks sprained, maybe even broken. And I think he probably has a concussion. We'll also have to clean that head wound, infection's going to be our biggest worry without any antibiotics."

"We came here for the food." Tyler says. "Mike, where—where did he go?"

"That coward ran off, what a surprise." Leah says, rolling her eyes.

"Mike might have ran off like a babbling coward, but that dumbass told me where he hid the food." Tyler smirks, "Finally, that fool did us a favor. He hid the food at the playground."

"The playground? Are you serious? He hid food under the playground?!" Leah huffs out.

"It's Mike we're talking about," Tyler shakes his head, "The dude calls himself Charms. Did you really expect him choose a place that's reasonable?"

"I know where that is," Quil chimes in. "We just have to follow the river, around that bend there."

They move their way along the river, fortunately without and incidents. When the reach the clearing, Tyler and Leah run ahead to the park, Bella and Quil move off to the side, standing guard, leaving Edward to tend to Embry.

"Embry, Embry, Embry, I need you to wake up. Embry, wake up!" Edward shakes him. He's getting more sure by the minute that Embry has a nasty concussion.

"Quil?" Embry whispers, waking up.

"It's Edward. I got you. Just stay awake, okay? Can you do that?" Edward says.

"Yeah…thanks…" Quil weakly replies.

As Leah and Tyler continue to dig, they soon realize that they are all coming up empty handed.

"Are you sure he said the playground?" Leah sighs.

"Yes, he did." Tyler says. "I will ring his neck if he lied."

"It's Mike, of course he lied!" Bella hisses.

"Guys," Embry coughs from where Edward is currently tending to his cut. "He could have been telling the truth. Someone must have seen him digging. They could have taken the food."

"There's no one but us Embry." Leah states. "There's no one here. Only us. Why do you think I'm stuck with you imbeciles?" She waves her hands around.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. It's getting darker. We have to go back." Tyler says.

Quil returns to Embry, and together he and Edward support him as they slowly make their way out of the park. Luckily, the walk home is easier than the way they came, as it's all downhill.

"So I was thinking," Leah says as they make their way down the middle of the main street. Bella remembers when it was nearly impossible to make a left turn here, because of all the traffic. And how now, just a few months later it's totally deserted. "I was thinking that it has to mean something, all those Cold Ones being together."

"Yeah?" Bella asks, not taking her eyes off of the horizon, watching for danger at every turn.

"Unless they're running out of food." Leah says, voice dropping lower. "There can't be many of us left here anymore. They can't have that many options of…of people to eat."

"What are we going to eat though?" Embry breaks the silence. "We came back from this run pretty empty handed."

"He's right. And I hate to say it, but Lauren was right. We need to figure out something better for the rationing system. Because at this rate..." Edward says, letting his thought drop off there.

"At this rate we may not make it." Leah says, finishing Edward's thought. By the way Leah's eyes turn serious as she looks over, Bella knows what she's about to say. "What do you think happened to Seth?"

"Seth…my dad, your mom. I don't know. We don't know anything about how the virus hit the west coast back home."

"I know my brother, and he would have done anything to get here to me. To find you."

"You think he's dead?" Bella demands. "Because I can't afford to think that way."

But looking to Edward, a voice in Bella's head chimes in with all her fears. The pessimistic thoughts she tries so hard to push away. Otherwise she won't be able to fight anymore. In a world without her dad, with Seth, there's not point. But she doesn't want to voice her concerns because if she says it outlook than it's too real.

"I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm just saying…I don't know."

"It wasn't likely that we'd run into each other. After we got split up when the virus first hit. But we did."

Leah stays quiet, instead moving forward to check for Cold Ones, making sure the coast was clear. They were only a block from the base, everyone picked up their speed, anxious to be back inside the safer walls of their home.

Emmett opens the door for them as they arrive back.

"Hurry in guys. Did you find food? I'm starving." Jacob asks. "Where's Mike? And where's the food?"

"There was no food." Bella says, "We're going to have to make do with the food we have for now."

"So, you left for the whole day only to come back empty handed? Wonderful." Lauren says while walking towards the backroom.

Bella sighs, rubbing her temples. The run was a bust. Embry almost lost his life, and Edward actually saved him. Who would have thought that mister TA cared enough about someone other than himself?

Looking around she finds him on the second level, using the bar as a makeshift doctors table, tending to a sleeping Embry's injuries.

"Where's the vodka?" Edward asks.

"Why? You're not drinking right now. What kind of doctor are you?" Bella huffs out.

"I'm not drinking it, Swan. Alcohol is a rather common disinfectant, and Embry here would appreciate it if his cut doesn't get infected." Edward drawls out.

Bella rolls her eyes and goes to retrieve the vodka before handing it to Edward. "Should he be sleeping, with a concussion?"

"As long as I wake him up every few hours, he'll be okay." Edward continues to dress Embry's cut. "So…Seth sounds like someone you really cared about."

"Care. I care about him. There's not a past tense."

"I didn't mean anything by it, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Do you really think he's still alive?" And from his tone, for once he doesn't even sound cynical, just genuinely curious.

"What other way is there for me to think? Seth's not just my boyfriend, he's my best friend. If I don't believe that he's out there and he's okay, what's the point?"

"Maybe there is no point. Even before the virus, we lived and we died and the world didn't care. The universe just keeps going, the world keeps spinning. Why would one person's death change anything now if it didn't even matter before?

"You don't mean that."

"What I mean is bad things happened before, and they're sure as hell happening now. There's nothing you can do."

"I don't believe that, you can _fight_. That's all you can do, is fight. Fight to stay alive, and for the people you love. Otherwise the world really is as meaningless as you make it out to be."

"If you think that way you're only going to get hurt." Edward murmurs.

Before Bella can say anything else, Angela comes bounding up the stairs, saying something about Lauren, and rationing, and beans, and hissy fit.

Bella leaves to play peacemaker downstairs, but not before looking back at Edward. Thinking about his last words, and how someone with such a nihilistic view of the world would decide to be a doctor to save lives.

With the night setting in, and another day behind them, the group begins to feel safe. To feel like they are secure and alone. But that was their mistake. Little did they know the danger that lurked outside their door wasn't only Cold Ones.

"They have food. They have shelter." Riley remarks, hunger is his eyes.

"I want it."

"We could head further north try to—"

"No. They have it. But not for long. We're going to take it, and burn everything they think they have to the ground." Victoria says.


	6. Chapter V

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing! Sorry for the hiatus between chapters...but remember...reviews keep the authors going :) **

**xxthosetwogirlswrite**

_I Still Ain't Over You – Augustana _

_Walking With a Ghost – Tegan and Sara_

_I Didn't Mean It – The Belle Brigade _

_The Wolves – Ben Howard_

* * *

_Postcard from Charlie, Wasilla, Alaska, March 2014_

_Bells,_

_Sorry you couldn't come with. Fishing has been great. Well, not for Harry. Ha ha. Sue and Seth came along, they keep saying they see moose. Convenient it's every time we're out of the cabin. Can't wait to see you this summer. Enough of your old man rambling._

_Love ya, kid._

* * *

Bella wakes as the sun peeks over the great lake. She quietly watches as the sky turns from slate grey to an array of soft pink, purple, and orange. It's truly beautiful, and Bella wonders why she didn't ever watch the sunrise before her world crumbled. Before the outbreak. It's been 61 days since they quarantined the city and about as many since she last spoke to her dad, to Seth. Bella's mind wanders to her conversation last night with Cullen. She remembers the cynicism rolling off him. She doesn't want to believe him. She doesn't want to let his pessimism seep into her, Bella knows too well how easy it is to lose hope. She's seen it before, experienced it firsthand. She saw the light fade from her dad's eyes that day in the hospital when her mom died. She felt the hope leave her dad, leave her when their world fell apart, but she can't give in, not now. Bella knows she has to fight.

She needs to fight for herself, for her dad. Hell, she needs to fight for these idiots that she's grown used to. As that thought filters into her mind, determination also filters in. Bella quickly gets up and heads over to Cullen's corner. As she approaches him, she sees that he has fallen asleep on a chair. Head bent at an angle, hair in a disarray. Next to him, she sees Embry lying on a makeshift bed. Bella turns to Embry, looking over his injuries, and sees that both his cut and ankle has now been neatly bandaged. Good, she thinks. At least Cullen's doing something now. Bella turns to Edward again, thinking over ways to wake him.

"Cullen!" Bella whispers, shaking him. "Cullen, get up." He doesn't move as Bella continues shaking him. "CULLEN!" She yells into his ear.

"Whaa—" Edward says as he startles from his sleeping place. Rubbing his face and looking up to see Bella's amused face. "What the hell was that for?!"

"That, Cullen, was my attempt at waking you up." Bella says. "And, how are you such a deep sleeper, especially in a zombiepocalypse."

"I'm usually not. I haven't slept that deeply in ages. Not even before the virus." He murmur darkly.

Bella doesn't even have the heart to tease him, his tone is so bleak. "Way to keep up the vigilance, Cullen," She settles for instead.

"Whatever," Edward huffs, "Why did you even need me awake? It's so early, is the sun even out?"

"Stop complaining, Cullen. I woke you up because you need to learn how to fight." Bella states.

"Me? _You_ want to teach me how to fight." Edward says, looking mildly appalled.

"No, I just woke you up because I thought you were Angela," Bella says, rolling her eyes. "Of course I meant you. God, you can't fight and you're dimwitted. Awesome."

"I never asked you to teach me, Swan. In fact, I don't need to learn." Edward said.

"You need to learn how to fight, Cullen, if you want to continue going on these runs with us. We can't afford to have you fuck up like you did yesterday." Bella states, "I also figured it's more dangerous having you incompetent and with us than actually teaching you some basic moves."

"But, but, I can't fight. I don't want to fight, Swan. I don't want to learn how to kill someone. I'm a pacifist. Do you know even know what that means? I—"

"Pacifist, a noun, is a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable." Bella deadpans, raising one of her eyebrows, continuing, "And it is something that Bella Swan does not care about because the Cold Ones aren't _someone_ anymore. They're zombies. So, get the fuck up and meet me outside in 10. You got that?" Bella stares at Edward for a second before turning on her heels to head outside.

Edward stares, jaw hanging in surprise, as Bella stalks off. He debates, for a minute, about not following Swan, but realizes that it is probably more dangerous facing her wrath than learning how to fight.

The first thing Edward sees when he trudges outside is Bella sitting on the fence of the outside patio sharpening what looks like knives.

"Great, she's a fuckin' psycho." Edward whispers to himself as he hesitantly approaches her.

Unsure of what to do, he says the first thing that comes to his mind, "Hey Clove, whatcha got there?"

"What? Clove?" Bella looks up, confused.

"You know," Edward says, reaching up to scratch behind his hair, "The crazy girl from the Hunger Games. She had a thing for knives." He finishes lamely.

"Oh." Bella says, feeling the awkwardness creep up between them.

"So, uh, what are we doing?" Edward says, trying to diffuse the silence.

Bella doesn't reply. She simply walks over to him and throws a punch.

"Woah there darlin'!" Edward says, slipping back into his southern twang in the face of fear. He jumps back when Bella walks towards him again.

"Come on, Cullen, don't tell me you're scared of me. And I'm not your 'darlin'," Bella taunts as she closes in on him.

Edward, seeing Bella stalk closer, backs more and more towards the building. He thinks that maybe she'll stop once he has no escape. He knows that she won't hurt him. Or, he hopes she won't hurt him. Either way, Edward continues to back up, hoping his theory is correct. Unbeknownst to him, Bella wants him cornered. He needs to learn that you should never let yourself be backed into a wall. As Edward hits the brick wall, he starts looking around panic floods him as she continues closing in on him.

Bella closes in quickly, pushing Edward against the wall she holds him by putting her arm against his neck. Leaning in, she whispers, "Lesson one. Never. Corner. Yourself."

Bella steps back, letting him go, "Don't ever turn your back on anyone, Cullen. Not your friends, not a Cold One, no one. You need to know your escape plan, got it? You never leave yourself vulnerable like that again."

"Got it." Edward bites out, "What's lesson two, Swan."

"Follow me," Bella says walking out from the patio towards the grass.

Edward hesitantly follows contemplating whether or not he made the right choice in choosing to train rather than to take her wrath. He shakes his head coming to the conclusion that Bella would probably hit him either way.

Bella looks back, seeing that Edward is lost in thought, shakes her head whispering out "Fucking dumbass."

Edward looks up as he sees something move, but he is not fast enough because in the next second he grunts as he's getting the air pushed out of him. The first thing he registers is pain. Everywhere. The second is the weight on him.

"Ow," he says staring up seeing Bella's irritated face, "What the fuck, Swan."

Bella rolls off him, crossing her arms and glaring at him, "Lesson number two, be aware of your surroundings. You can't be walking around lost in your own mind." She says, "You need to always be vigilant of your surroundings. Danger is everywhere."

"Fuck, of course there's danger, "Edwards says, "You're the fucking danger, Swan. Shit, that fucking hurt. I'm not your punching bag. I'm out."

"Cullen." Bella says, walking towards him, "I'm the least of your problems. And I'm not going to apologize. We're stuck in Duluth. With Cold Ones roaming free. You need to learn if you want to survive, and part of that survival is learning to be vigilant and knowing not to leave yourself vulnerable to any attacks."

"Fine, whatever, Bella." Edward says looking irritated, "Let's get on with it. Lesson three?"

"Lesson three is this," Bella says holding out a knife to him. "I'm just going to show you the basics, okay?"

"Whatever you say, darlin'." Edward says taking the knife, grinning at her annoyed expression. He's finally found some way to press her buttons.

Bella grabs her knife and begins showing Edward how to properly hold the knife. She starts off easy, showing him how to grip the weapon and the many ways to hold the weapon. After a couple of minutes Edward gets the hang of wielding the weapon. Bella then shifts to show him basic moves to harm his opponent. She walks over to a sandbag that the group has been using as a target, and shows him how the Cold Ones can only be killed with a blow to head. As Bella demonstrates this, all clinical and stoic, Edward can't shake how violent this is. Sure, it's a just a sandbag now, but they're expecting him to kill. They want him to use this knowledge to fight. This isn't what he signed up for when he came to Minnesota. He's standing here learning about kill areas of a person like this is another anatomy lesson, and this isn't right.

"Swan," Edward cuts in as she's talking about going for the kill areas, "I can't—I-I-can't. Stop." Edward drops his knife as he quickly backs away from the target, "Swan, this isn't me. I'm nothing like _him_." Edward whispers out shaking his head, trying to clear away the image of his little brother. His parents. Oh god, the violence is too much.

A couple of feet away, Bella looks on shocked by this turn of events. She doesn't know what to do. She's confused as to why Edward changed his tune so quickly, but not wanting to pry Bella stands there for a few beats before walking to him. She doesn't ask who "him" is, she figures if Cullen wants her to know he'll tell her. She wouldn't want someone to pry about her life before all this either.

"Cullen," She says, "Let's pick this up tomorrow, okay? I'm starved anyway."

Edward nods, "Sure. I'm starved too." Thankful that Bella isn't meddling for information he turns quickly to head back inside.

When they walk back into Grandma's, they find everyone gathered around the bar. Emmett leaning against it like he's holding court, next to Lauren and Angela. Jacob is on the other side of Emmett, and across from him are Quil and Embry, who is seated in a chair. Rosalie is standing off in the corner.

Bella and Edward enter, moving to the wall across from the group, leaning against it. These group meetings are never short, and it's ususally best to have some distance from everyone in case it gets…heated.

"Where's Leah?" Bella asks, settling in.

"She's on the roof. Keeping watch." Jacob supplies.

"We have a lot of fucking problems to address, a lot of solutions we need to come up with. So can we get this show on the road?"

"Okay, but what's an actual solution, Lauren? We all know and understand the problem: we're running out of food. But how are we going to _solve_ it?"

Lauren crosses her arms, shrugging her shoulders. "Well I can't do all the work."

"I say we do another run." Adds Jacob Black. Bella's mind wanders while he's talking about "expanding the boundaries" of their runs, pushing out further. He's undoubtedly good looking, well over six-feet, tan skin. He was friends with Quil and Embry before the virus hit, they all came off of the same nation in northern Minnesota. It was from their legends, with some holes filled in by Leah, that they began using the name the Cold Ones in the first place. And he knew Emmett from the RSOP program at UMD...explaining the body...

Yeah, Jacob Black is pretty gorgeous. But mostly friend material, Bella thinks. Especially by the way Lauren's always arguing with him.

"Pushing out further?" Lauren asks, right on cue. "It's the fucking north. There is nothing "further" out. It's rural Minnesota outside of Duluth. Houses are far away from each other, and the only people who would have any food to steal are doomsday preppers, and they just mostly have guns. So. No. Thanks."

"I agree with Lauren." Edward says, earning a dirty look form the former, and a surprised look from Bella.

"So do we." Quil says, motioning to himself and Embry, who still can't put much weight on his ankle and is attending the meeting from a chair. "No way Embry is making it far on a run yet. Sounds too dangerous for anyone to go."

"Tyler, Rosalie, and Bella? Anything to add?"

"If we don't find anything to eat, we're going to be dead anyway." Tyler shrugs his shoulders, looking to others in the group. "I don't think there's any risk too big to take to eat right now."

Bella's nodding along to this. "I'm in either way. I'll go on a run further out if we need to."

"Rosalie?" Emmett prompts.

The entire group turns to Rosalie. Even thought she didn't talk much, people tended to pay attention when she did. Bella thought it was the combination of brain and excessive beauty that caught people's attention. She was an anthropology major who also knew her way around weapons. And while nobody from the group disliked her, she hadn't exactly made friends. Except with maybe Leah, as they were the only two who never backed down from arguments.

"It's not just where we are going to get food by how." Rosalie says. "What Lauren said..."stealing" food...nobody even argued with her. Is that the type of group we're going to be? Take what we need and fuck everybody else? I know we need to survive as much as anybody here...but just not at any cost."

Emmett nods his head slowly. "So we agree we need food. We're split on how to get it. And I think Rosalie makes a point. Just because the world has gone to shit, doesn't mean we have to go down with it."

Bella can practically feel Cullen roll his eyes, can hear _it has always been shit_. But aloud he only adds "I don't think we should hurt anybody else trying to feed ourselves either."

"Everyone has said their piece. Leah's keeping guard upstairs, Ang, will you go and get her vote? The rest of us take a minute to think, then we'll decide what to do."

Bella's pretty sure everyone has already made up their minds, but Emmett is a leader, through-and-through. He looks like a frat boy, but talks like a president. And it was cute to watch Angela try to flirt with him, she had already set up the bond that they're both Korean. "Half," he had told her with a grin. "My father's family was Irish."

"Got the vote, Ang?" He asked as she skidded into the room, she nodded, and Emmett asked everyone for their vote.

Stay close to home was as expected: Quil, Edward, Lauren, Angela (after a dirty look from Lauren), and Emmett. The only surprise was Rosalie also voted this way.

Push out further turned out to be the losing vote: Jacob, Leah, Bella, Tyler, and the most surprising, Embry.

"I don't want to hold anyone back," He whispered sheepishly to Quil.

"So that settles it. We're staying closer to home. Now any ideas where to go?" Emmett asks.

"Um..." Angela says, blushing at becoming the center of attention suddenly. "Leah wanted me to tell you that...that the prodigal fuckboy has returned." Angela smiles as Lauren snaps "language" to her younger sister.

"Fucking Mike." Lauren says, and groans ring thought the room, but are interrupted by a frantic knocking at the door.

"Guys!" They hear Mike. "Guys, let me in! Please! I've got some-" He's interrupted by Tyler yanking open the door, causing him to crash into the room.

"You've got some _what_, Mike?" Tyler asks scathingly. "An explanation for why you abandoned us?"

"It's Charms. And I didn't abandon you-"

"The hell you didn't!" Bella pushes off from against the wall, moving forward, only to be stopped by Edward's arm and a cautioning glance.

"Nearly out of disinfectant, Swan." Edward warns.

"Out of my way. He won't need it." She grinds out back.

"Like I was saying I didn't abandon you. I thought of something. Another place to find food. So I went to check it out and," He whistles low, eating it up that he has everyone's undivided attention, "Let me tell you. It's _stocked_."

"Where is it, Mike?" Emmett asks, evidence of his patience running thin in his voice. "Is that where you've been since yesterday?"

Mike nods solemnly. "Yeah. And…shit, it's dangerous to get there you know. Really dangerous. In fact…it's kind of hard for me to _explain_ where it is, but I could probably _show_ you…"

"You lying piece of shit!" Bella yells, pushing around Edward's arm this time. "You haven't found any food, you're just trying to cover the face you ran like a coward, and now have nothing to show for it."

"If you don't start to appreciate the qualities that I bring to this group then—"

"_Enough_." Emmett says, interrupting before it turns into an all out brawl.

But before he can say anything further, there's a crash upstairs, followed by Leah swearing loudly. Next, they hear her clattering down the stairs, stopping at the bottom.

"Guys, we've got a problem a bit closer to home."


End file.
